Burglars damage Walgreen’s on St. Elmo Road

Burglars did about 5 grand worth of damage to Walgreen’s at 6565 St. Elmo Road in Bartlett before dawn Wednesday morning. The store’s employees are still tallying how many controlled substances vanished with the suspects.

The Bartlett Police Department reports that officers headed to the burglary in progress around 2:40 a.m. The officers first spotted a large hole in the pharmacy’s window and glass shards scattered on the ground and then cleared the building. The store’s asset protection manager, Jennifer Smith, provided surveillance footage of the crime.

Suspects started bashing in the window around 2:35 a.m., climbed inside and began taking bottles of pills. They were gone within two minutes. Both suspects appeared to be wearing black hoodies and blue jeans.

Smith said the store would prepare a DEA “Loss of Controlled Substance Report” to tally the value of the drugs stolen. The broken window and damaged shelves was estimated at $5,000.

Witness Lisa Jamison, night manager at the Neighborhood Walmart was standing outside on her break around 2:20 a.m. when she heard loud banging around Walgreen’s and what sounded like a pipe falling down”. She saw a vehicle headed west immediately afterward, but it’s not clear if the vehicle is related to the crime.

Officers gathered more surveillance footage covering the area of the pharmacy from Walmart and the Citgo Flash Market.

Just before 5 a.m., an officer patrolling the area of Billy Maher and Pebblehill found what appeared to be some of the suspects’ clothes in the southbound lane: A black hoodie and a black T-shirt, both strewn with glass fragments.